For a variety of reasons, it is not always practical to transfuse a patient with donated blood. In these situations, use of a red blood cell substitute is necessary. Although solutions derived from mammalian blood have been used with success, because such solutions are derived from natural blood, they can contain various pathogenic substances, such as viral pathogens including HIV, Hepatitis B, and other pathogens, e.g. prions such as those associated with Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, and the like. Accordingly, there is interest in the development of new physiologically acceptable solutions that are suitable for use as blood substitutes, which are prepared from non-blood derived components.